Recycling and Reusing Plastic

Fun Ways to Recycle or Reuse Plastic

Recycling your plastic is great for the environment, but before you transport them to the recycling center, think of what you can DO with them. Plastic has some wonderful reuses around the home and garden. Below is a collection of quick and easy ideas to reuse plastic.

Recycling Plastic

If you don't REUSE your plastic, this handy recycle center locator will help you find the closest recycle center simply by typing in your zip code. Plastic is not biodegradable and if it ends up in the landfill, it will stay there virtually forever without decomposing.

The Play House blog features 10 Ways to Reuse Plastic Easter Eggs. After the holiday has passed, don't throw those plastic eggs out! You can use them to make learning games. These 10 ideas focus primarily on preschool age children, but you can use them to inspire more ideas. I'm particularly fond of the alphabet upper and lowercase match game. A perfect way to teach young children and reuse plastic at the same time.

Reuse Plastic Yogurt Containers to Start Seeds

# 1 Way to Reuse Plastic

Plastic yogurt containers are the perfect size for starting seeds. Poke a hole in the bottom of the container and fill each little seed pot with dirt. It works best if you nestle them closely together in a large flat container to make it easy to transport them when moving them to the garden.

Reusing Plastic for Organization

#2 Way to Reuse Plastic

There was a time that I saw my overflowing plastic recycle bin as a nuisance. Now, I see it as an opportunity to get organized. By decorating plastic containers, you can organize almost anything. I used these large gallon size vinegar bottles to store my kids bubbles (a summertime favorite).

Reorganizing Household Items

Bottles to Store Pencils, Pens and Markers

#3 Way to Reuse Plastic

Reusing smaller plastic bottles, such as water or soda bottles, works perfectly for pencils, pens or markers. You can decorate the outside of the container, or leave it plain to better see the contents. Organization magic!

Reuse Plastic Berry Containers to Organize School Supplies

Berry Containers to Store Supplies

#4 Way to Reuse Plastic

These plastic berry containers worked perfectly for grouping flashcards, small books and cards. They are just the right size to group and stack educational supplies. My once cluttered mess is now organized, making it easy to find just the thing you are looking for. The berry containers are clear, but you can also add a label to aid in identifying the contents.

Reuse Plastic to Organize Household Items

Plastic Boxes for Storage

#5 Way to Reuse Plastic

This plastic container once held potato salad. After a warm bath, and a little contact paper decorating, it was the perfect place to store CDs running loose around my home.

plastic bag yarn for crochet and recycled crafts

Plastic Bags

#8 - Ways to Reuse Plastic

If you do not recycle, one of the kindest things you can do for the environment is ask for paper bags when you shop. Paper is biodegradable and decomposes eventually in the landfill. Plastic bags do not and they stick around filling up dumps far too long. In some countries they have actually been outlawed.

If you have plastic bags you want to reuse, here are a few cool craft ideas to do that:

Also, after the craft has outworn it's welcome, please go ahead and recycle those plastic bags.

Granny Square Purse

Purse

Made from recycling plastic grocery bags

On a smaller scale, try this grocery bag purse made by crocheting plastic yarn. It's finished dimensions are 8 X 9 inches. The instructions indicate that it takes 30 minutes to and hour to finish. If you are new to using plarn, it will take you at least that long to cut the grocery bags into strips. I anticipate 4 hours to be a much more accurate time estimate from start to finish and if you are experienced in crochet. You will need lots of plastic grocery bags and a large crochet hook (size N).

More Ways to Reuse Plastic

Carton Catchers - RePlayGroundCarton Catchers description: What do you get when you combine an empty milk carton with a cardboard toilet paper tube? You get a carton catcher! It's no joke that with a little bit of craftiness you can convert a

Reusing Plastic Bags and CansDo you have plastic cans you would like to recycle into crafts. Learn to make a drum or a memory time capsule from your old can.
What about those ever abundant plastic grocery bags? Here are some knifty tips for turning them into crafts as well.

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